Russia To Require Registration For Wi-Fi Use

Oleg.salenko points out a ComputerWorld story with some bad news for Russia's wireless users, which starts out "Business travelers to Russia might want to keep their laptops and iPhones well-concealed — not from muggers, necessarily, but from the country's recently formed regulatory super-agency, Rossvyazokhrankultura (short for the Russian Mass Media, Communications and Cultural Protection Service)... Rossvyazokhrankultura's interpretation of current law holds that users must register any electronics that use the frequency involved in Wi-Fi communications, said Vladimir Karpov, the deputy director of the agency's communications monitoring division, according to an English commentary provided by website The Other Russia."

It gets worse: "Aside from public hotspots, the registration requirement also applies to home networks, laptops, smart phones and Wi-Fi-enabled PDAs, Karpov reportedly said. Registration only permits use by the owner. Registration for personal devices is said to take 10 days, but registering a hotspot — including a home network — is more complicated, involving a set of documents and technological certifications akin to putting in a cell tower."

And...

[CSMatt (1175471)]

Cue the Soviet Russia jokes in 3,2,1...

Re:And...

[by Anonymous Coward]

In Soviet Russia, joke cues you in 1, 2, 3...

beaurocracy

[countach (534280)]

Russia has always been top heavy in beaurocracy, even before Soviet times.

Re:beaurocracy

[arivanov (12034)]

This is not bureaucracy, it is cleptocracy.

A large portion of the certification process in Russia is run by private labs whose tactics are not that far from the law textbook definition of extortion.

All this means is that they have gotten themselves a "men at the helm" to provide them with more income.

Re:beaurocracy

[electrictroy (912290)]

Beauracracy (and the inherent corruption therein) is what brought-down the Roman Empire in the 300s and 400s A.D. Too many employees, gobbling-up too much money, and not enough taxes to support the weight.

Our modern European and American states are heading down the same path.

Re:beaurocracy

[upside (574799)]

beaurocracy - rule by the beautiful?

Bureaucracy [wikipedia.org]

I'm so sorry for this

[Freaky Spook (811861)]

In Soviet Russia wifi-register.su

Re:I'm so sorry for this

[enoz (1181117)]

In case it isn't obvious (it wasn't immediately obvious to me), that TLD is the extension that was created for the Soviet Union. Apparently it is still in use today [wikipedia.org].

Re:I'm so sorry for this

[mikesd81 (518581)]

In fact this was a story on /. Saturday [slashdot.org].

Re:And...

[__NR_kill (1018116)]

I would rather cue the jokes about Soviet Australia, as the dudes from computerworld.com.au misinterpreted the function of this agency, which only registers hotspots or for-profit wi-fi networks. The end consumer is fully exempted. Here's the google translation of their article: http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rsoc.ru%2Fmain%2Fabout%2F858%2F887.shtml%3Fid_news%3D628&langpair=ru%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 [google.com]

Re:And...

[Cyberax (705495)]

Actually, no.

There was a splash in Russian-speaking blogs about this law. It's NOT clear what they mean by "end-user devices". It may be interpreted only as a WiFi card inside your notebook, for example. So you'll still need to register your wireless router.

In short, that law is just a plain money-grab. And will be probably ignored by anyone: "Strictness or Russian laws is alleviated by their optionality" (sorry, it sounds much better in Russian).

muggers

[boguslinks (1117203)]

Business travelers to Russia might want to keep their laptops and iPhones well-concealed -- not from muggers,necessarily,

I'd recommend concealing them from the muggers too.

I got one!

[PhearoX (1187921)]

In Soviet Russia, WiFi registers you!

Re:

[mikesd81 (518581)]

Just out of curiosity, where did the Soviet Russia jokes come from?

Re:I got one!

[rlp (11898)]

Just out of curiosity, where did the Soviet Russia jokes come from?

Origin of Russian reversal [wikipedia.org].

Re:

[compro01 (777531)]

i believe the original was "in america, you can always find a party. in soviet russia, the party can always find you."

WiFi devices

[NoobixCube (1133473)]

Looks like everyone who doesn't register their Nintendo DS is going to be a dangerous criminal! :O

Re:

[RiotingPacifist (1228016)]

Its the omnipotent bunnies they're more worried about!

Cue thinkgeek ad.

Wait, what?

[Joe Tie. (567096)]

There's electronic devices these days that don't have wifi built in?

Re:Wait, what?

[calebt3 (1098475)]

My flashlight doesn't have it. Yet. Gimme a few hours.

Re:

[calebt3 (1098475)]

Have it check RSS feeds and blink them at me in Morse Code.

Bluetooth too?

[LBt1st (709520)]

Doesn't Bluetooth use the same frequency range as Wifi?

Re:

[enoz (1181117)]

Well then as well as registering their laptops and iphones they will also have to register their microwave ovens, security cameras, Bluetooth devices and (in some countries) Amateur radio, video senders, cordless phones and baby monitors. These devices all "use the frequency involved in Wi-Fi communications". (source: wifi pollution [wikipedia.org])

How long before..

[andy1307 (656570)]

How long before some idiot tells us this is no different from what we have in the US?

Re:

[Max Littlemore (1001285)]

I'm not going to say it's no different, but speaking as someone who is neither American or Russian, I see having to hand my laptop over to a bunch of oafs in the airport so they can go through it as more invasive than being required to register my wifi adapter. But maybe that's just me.

Yeah, you just keep telling yourself you live in the land of the free if that's what makes you feel good.

Re:How long before..

[TubeSteak (669689)]

How long before some idiot tells us this is no different from what we have in the US?

This is no different from what we have in the U.S.

/It took one hour

Re:

[pembo13 (770295)]

A bit defensive aren't we

russian

[demiurgie (911355)]

Almost fake story.
1. It's not required for end-user to register his wifi enabled devices.
2. Short range Wifi hotspots must be registered if you allow access to a third party (10 days and approx. 1000 rub for registration)
3. "a set of documents and technological certification" required for ISPs (if you sell wifi access for profit) and for wavelength not in a/b/g range

Re:russian

[enoz (1181117)]

That sounds much too logical for a bureaucrat to have come up with.

They're afraid

[zymano (581466)]

Afraid that someone in Russia might use the internet for legitimate reasons instead of for crime.

Soon in the US

[Arthur B. (806360)]

To ensure your wifi router provides a "fair" "net-neutral" access. Hey, it's not *your* wifi router, we live in a society don't we ? Yeah yeah, flamebait, go ahead... but it sickens me no one sees how it's the same thing.

Re:

[phantomfive (622387)]

Wait, what? This isn't happening in the US. All you have done is created a scenario where it might possibly happen, that doesn't mean it will. Right now the government of Sudan is killing it's own citizens. I could make up a scenario where that happens in the US as well.

This is happening in Russia, ok? Not the US. You seem to be thinking that the US is on it's way to some sort of totalitarian government. It's not. Russia IS on it's way to some totalitarian government, and it's obvious to everyone w

Re:

[mi (197448)]

This isn't happening in the US.

It is. Search Slashdot (or anywhere else) for "net neutrality". Various activists are eager to force their own understanding of "fairness" and "neutrality" on the ISPs.

Re:

[roto3 (1160113)]

There's a difference between ISPs, whom you are paying for access/bandwidth, and private Wi-Fi networks. The GP implies that people will be forced to open up their private networks, which is not the case and has nothing to do with network neutrality.

Re:

[Arthur B. (806360)]

Most router are private property, be they owned by a corporation or an individual.

There's a problem when ...

[by Anonymous Coward]

There's a problem when a word like Rossvyazokhrankultura is considered *short* for something. What happened to NAMBLA?

Re:

[Petersson (636253)]

There's a problem when a word like Rossvyazokhrankultura is considered *short* for something

It is common Russian way to create shorts. It's easier to say it when you're drunk (also common in Russia) then to spell something in Russian alphabet. Just like 'Gosgortechnadzor' or 'Khosrasschiot'.

It's so sad...

[rastoboy29 (807168)]

Russia has so much potential, but it always slips back into authoritarian ways.  Must be the weather or something.

Re:It's so sad...

[tftp (111690)]

If you look at history you will see that Russia's potential is most effectively realized under authoritarian governments (Czars, Stalin, Brezhnev) and mostly wasted under "democratic" rulers (Gorbachev, Yeltsin.)

Must be the weather or something.

It's not the weather. It's russians. Given the choice they don't work. Unlike americans, russians are not chasing the golden calf, preferring instead to have good time. Nothing gets done this way.

Meanwhile at 10 Downing Street

[zmollusc (763634)]

Oh Noes! The pesky Russians have outdone us again! Quick, grab some more tax money and set up yet another government department to issue licenses for WIFI! No, I haven't a clue what it is either, just do it! And make those biometric things compulsory with registration while you are at it. And DNA.

That's a hoax, and has been known to be for days

[AndyElf (23331)]

That's a hoax, and has been known to be for a few days already... http://www.iphones.ru/iNotes/2922/ [iphones.ru]

Re:Yes, but...

[brunokummel (664267)]

Yes, but while I'm in Russia can I have sex with an underage prostitute?

That depends if she works for the government, if so, the Soviet Russia will have sex with you .

Re:

[dbcad7 (771464)]

No

I understand what you were trying to say.. but there are laws (even in Russia) against doing such things.. so your attempt fails.. and please get yourself neutered.. Thanks

Re:Yes, but...

[Shaman007 (796907)]

The registration is required by commercial organisations only. Please stop the FUD.

Re:

[LynnwoodRooster (966895)]

How about this one? [cia.gov]

Re:Hahahahahahaha!

[zappepcs (820751)]

ROFLMAO, you beat me to it. I was just wondering what service would be like. Just what can you steal? There are probably not too many Brits laughing. They have to register their bloody televisions.

Mind you, they get a nice return on that, or used to. Not sure how good BBC programming is these days but I'm willing to wager that it has any of the major American networks beat hands down. I know there are those that like to watch television commercials, but then again, there are people that like reality television too. Go figure.

When I was growing up (rumor has it that I have not done so yet) I read all kinds of Science Fiction books. This was before the intarwebnets and WiFi. Now, more and more, I find that I am living in one of those worlds that were known only science fiction fans.

This sounds like an attempt to sell Russian made equipment, or the beginnings of it. Ahhhh government regulation: an attempt by the ruling to create criminals of those who are not.

Fortunately, in most of the rest of the world WiFi devices have been given rather loose regulation to allow the development of Wireless services and functionality.

In countries where there is no major wired infrastructure it builds revenue streams if you have to be licensed and regulated to do the work. No PC/WiFi entrepreneurs for Russia... sigh! God forbid that Russians actually communicate easily with the rest of the world.

Personally, this makes me sad. Check http://www.englishrussia.com/ [englishrussia.com] and have a peer inside what the rest of us have only just begun to appreciate and understand. The Internet is fucking awesome. I'm sad that there are restrictions on it for Russians, and Chinese for that matter.

Re:

[alegrepublic (83799)]

ROFLMAO, you beat me to it. I was just wondering what service would be like. Just what can you steal? There are probably not too many Brits laughing. They have to register their bloody televisions. Mind you, they get a nice return on that, or used to. Not sure how good BBC programming is these days but I'm willing to wager that it has any of the major American networks beat hands down.

Ha, Ha! That's wishful thinking. The American no-need-to-register PBS is pretty good, especially all those british progr

Re:

[RiotingPacifist (1228016)]

Actually i think they register it for you, whenever you purchase a TV the BBC get told about it.

Fortunatly for me i dont have have a tv but can watch BBC programing on iplayer for free.
I think there must be some good US channels? I think the BBC also pushes up the competition, I find C4 much better, but if it wasnt for the BBC they would slump as ITV & FIVE just cant put on anything other than reality TV.

I do worry about Russia, not allowing free access to the internet is the first step in blocking out

Re:

[zmollusc (763634)]

Whenever you buy a tv, (or a vcr or tv receiver doohickey for your pc etc) the person at the till asks you for name and address for their paperwork. I believe Mr Upyours of 11 Fictitious Mews, Madeupville makes all his purchases with cash, I get all my stuff via him.

Re:

[mrmeval (662166)]

Cue the Ayn Rand jokes!